XCOM:To the Stars
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: Losing the Earth, the XCOM Infinity dreadnaught and its crew must now gather allies from across the galaxy and retake their home. They'll meet new friends, explore new worlds and new civilizations, boldly go where no man has gone before... This is XCOM:To the Stars.
1. Leaving Earth

_(AN:For entertainment purposes only)_

 _XCOM:Among the Stars_

 _Chapter 1:Leaving Earth_

 _Commander's log 0216. 19th of May 2016_

 _It's done... The Ethereals are... They're FINISHED! XCOM Won... We won... I, commander Alexander Reinhardt Ross can say with pride, XCOM Has achieved their victory. Humanity has won against an unending alien invasion. We've killed hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of aliens, lost dozens of soldiers, our best and the poor, young rookies that got shot up into this fuckfest of a war. Now... Now we can actually focus on rebuilding our destroyed homes and the likes. I hear Berlin will need a new coat of paint after one of the Ethereal ship pieces landed too close for comfort..._

 _I'll be glad to see home, my wife and kids again. Lil' Helena was 3 when this shitstorm started and I missed her birthday..._

 _Not this one, though. Hell no, not this one. Time to celebrate a rebirth, for all of us, and I'll make sure every man and woman I lost here will be honored for their sacrifices..._

 _Even Irene... Damned I be, Irene... The Volunteer..._

 _END LOG_

 _Commander's Log 0315. 25th of December 2026_

 _Ten years... Heh, ten years passed fast, even with not having anything to shoot at or any alarms blaring in my head. Today... Today 11 years ago, the aliens decided they wanted to give us a damned 'show of strength', using Annette as a conduit to control our people, then hit the XCOM Asia base, CENTCOM, with their best fucking forces. We handed them a nice beating, but at the cost of 3 security officers, MEC Trooper Master Sergeant Alfonso "Bolts" DeMarco and Captain Karen 'Cell' Reinhardt... My sister was always a pain in the ass... But she followed orders and she was family... Hoping she's resting well, looking over us right now with our victory and all. We got a nice new project going with the rebuilding done and all... Hope Helena will think about joining and actually become a captain herself. She and Mako would make good Starship captains... 'Till then, may our boys and girls rest easy..._

 _You too "Bolts"... Died owing me fifteen credits... Debt's been overpaid buddy. Rest easy._

 _END LOG._

 _LOGIN:Helena Reinhardt-Ross. Acting captain of the new XCOM Experimental INFINITY-Class ship._

 _Password:*******_

 _LOGIN COMPLETE._

 _Captain's log 0001. 9th of December 2030._

 _I'm aboard the shuttle to the project my dad mentioned in his last entry, 4 years ago._

 _The XCOM_ Infinity _Dreadnaught. First of its kind, probably the best we'll ever make... I'll put the specs on-view while I wait to land..._

 _I have no words to add toward how grateful I am toward my father and his soldiers. Met a certain Major 'Chilong' and he explained everything to me when I was older. Dad died before getting the chance, in 2027... Anyway, Here you go:_

 _UNSC_ Infinity _INFINITY-CLASS Dreadnaught._

 _FTL Core(Yes, you're reading this right):Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Elerium Slipstream engine._

 _Propulsion system:Elerium-grade 3 OFFSHOOT engines(Based on Ethereal propulsion systems)_

 _Weapons:Frontal-facing Depleted Elerium-115 slug launcher, named MASS ACCELERATION CANNON. ARCHER Plasma Torpedo pods, Several hundred Plasma cannons, Magnetic POINT-DEFENSE Gatling guns, Type-35 Magnetic Deck Guns, GARDIAN Pules Laser point-defenses and attack beams, assorted missile tubes and two Nuclear HAVOK missiles._

 _Length:7.5 kilometers_

 _Width:4 kilometers_

 _Height:3.5 Kilometers_

 _Armor:Alien Alloy plating, 2 kilometers thick._

 _Hangars:30-Dropships and fighters. 5 drop bays for the STRIDENT-Class Heavy Escort Frigates(Similar specs to the_ Infinity)

 _Crew:12.000 Men and Women of the United Earth Governments._

 _{ADDED DATA DOWN BELOW. CONTINUE TO READ? Y/N}_

 _{N}_

 _SWITCHING OFF._

* * *

Aboard the XCOM shuttle headed toward the XCOM _Infinity,_ captain Helena could only look on in awe down below. She had never seen the Earth like this, and since the invasion in 2015-2016, which she was too young to remember, humanity has made advancements that far outweighed the losses they had sustained during the war. She ran a hand through her platinum-golden, long and wavy hair, then smiled as she looked at the bright lights on the dark side of the planet, of which was her home city of New Berlin. The place had been bombed to hell in the war. Now, it had been meticulously rebuilt and recreated. She leaned back and looked at the pilot, who was obscured by his chair and spoke softly, her Prussian accent giving a feeling of an elite soldier's, a general's really, almost like she was born to lead.

"How much farther to the _Infinity_ , Flight Officer?" She asked softly, receiving a nod from the pilot. He tapped two commands on the holographic touchpad next to his chair, then flicked a holographic screen on behind him, not even bothering to turn to see the captain. He answered calmly "ETA to the ship is a minute out. You should look out the window, ma'am. She's quite the sight to see."

Helena heeded his advice. Looking up at the speckled darkness of space, shock struck her, making the pilot slightly laugh...

Large battle stations armed with the new Mk IV MAC Guns, surrounded an even larger shipyard in geosynchronous orbit above the Atlantic Ocean. The ribcage-like worm of steel girders, alloy plates and assorted building tools stood out in the middle of the darkness. The XCOM _INFINITY_ resided in the middle of the cradle. The slanted alien Alloy shined a darkened silver against the light of Sol, their system's sun, which was now vanishing behind the planet below. She was awed at the size of the operation as she saw hundreds of shuttles, both big and small, dock and undock from the large exploration ship. The damned thing was bristling with guns, its backside Ethereal-based Anti-Gravity propulsion jets shone bright green in the darkness of space...

 _Exploration_ ship. Helluva name to give a damned war-ready dreadnaught. Helena nearly laughed when hearing that in the meeting.

She didn't fail to notice ten, _ten_ XCOM Skyranger-II Craft docking with its main launch bays. The supersonic-flight vehicles had now been outfitted to operate in vacuum. An incredible achievement if you consider the possibilities and the costs toward the Skyranger-I were... She didn't even want to think what it cost to build the damned _Infinity_. Helena looked on, examining it as it came ever-closer to them, then as it clanged to a halt, she stood up off her seat, grabbed her bags and thanked the pilot politely, removing herself from the cramped shuttle.

The inside of the ship, to say the least, was not cramped at all... Hell no...

A cavernous hangar awaited for her on the other side, but one that was teeming with life. Several catwalks up above stored hundreds of XCOM's Combat-Ready FIRESTORM fighters, alongside several recomissioned Raven-Class interceptors, all of which were armed to the teeth in plasma torpedoes and weapons alike, most endearing being the plasma gatlings. The Ravens probably served as combat scouts, giving info out to the FIRESTORMs, at least that's what they gave off when Helena saw the massive intelligence and counter-intelligence packages strapped to them on several of their hardpoints.

On the ground floor, however, she heard a marching drum and bagpipes. Helena was taken aback by the sight of 120 XCOM Soldiers on the march, armed and armored with Plasma and Power Armors, far more advanced than the past XCOM ones. The March of Cambreadth was what was playing from the soldiers' classic wood and skin drums and bagpipes. She smiled upon sighting Irish flags on their backs. The 177th Birtish SAS Regiment had joined them aboard. The United Nations have been kind enough to hand out a lot of elites and Helena couldn't help but sing too,

" _Axes flash and Broadswords swing, shining armor's piercing Ring, Horses run and polished shield, FIGHT THOSE BASTARDS TILL THEY YIELD!"_

The soldiers snapped-to, upon sighting the captain of the ship, advancing past her, Rifles slung on their backs, whirring as they waited for a target to blow the head off of anything coming aboard, or better yet, when they went planetside to kill anything 'unfriendly'. The captain saluted them back, then walked toward one of the thirty train carts that lead from the ship's bow to its prow. Aboard it were XCOM officers from Africa, Asia and Europe alike, most of which had their countries and ranks strapped to their uniforms. She recognized one name. _Van Doorn._

"Ah, Maria." She said, smiling as her friend, the ship's Gunnery commander, snapped-to, seeing her. The girl smiled, saluted back and nodded.

"Helena. Been awhile since we last spoke. On this ride to get to your station, cap?" Maria asked, receiving a relaxed nod from Helena.

"Yes. I'm off to get to the bridge. You seem to be well on your way to your post in Gunnery Station 12?" Helena inquired.

"Yup." Maria answered, grinning "I'm gonna do what my father did. Blow shit up, because..."

 _"That's XCOM, BABY!"_ The two girls said in unison, then laughed. The cart dinged for Gunnery and Maria waved to the captain as she and three of the officers left. Helena smiled, then relaxed, looking out around at the ship and the work crews putting the final touches on the place. Upon the elevator dinging for the bridge, she walked up and off. The bridge was a medium-large room, where dozens of consoles resided on the outer walls. Up ahead, the main holographic table resided, where also, the Blue-tinted avatar of a Female stood in the middle, making calculations and such, while another silver-haired girl talked to her.

"Mako!" Helena cried, full of joy. Her friend turned toward her and smiled, then ran to Helena and yanked her into a tight hug.

"Oh my god, Lena!" The silver-haired woman said, happily as she examined her friend " _Du siehst gut aus_! You look bloody good!"

"Thanks. You too, girl." Helena said, then corrected herself, smiling "Actually, I'mma be calling you Commander from now on."

Mako shook her head, grinning, then, as they walked across to the Captain's chair, passing by ensigns moving about the bridge toward the holographic table, said "I prefer if we keep it to the first-name basis, or 'nicknames' for this case."

"Heh. Agreed." Helena said, picking up her tablet and holographic HUD glasses, placing one upon her right eye and one in her pocket. She leaned on the table and listened in. The strange female avatar ahead of her, with long wavy hair and civilian clothing, was humming something as, around her, dozens of numbers floated. She made calculations left and right, then turned and smiled, saluting.

"Ah. Captain Helena." The girl stated in a clear british accent "I'm SNA 1292-4, XCOM 'Smart' Artificial intelligence. You may call me Serina."

"Serina, huh?" Helena asked, smiling as she kept leaned on the the table ahead of her. "Serina means mermaid in some language, right?"

"If you mean the half-fish girls that can attract sailors to their doom just by singing, yes..." Serina smirked, then chuckled "I've not gotten asked about my name by the Operatives that set me into the _Infinity_. You're the first, Captain."

"What can I say?" Helena shrugged, smiling "I notice stuff as I go along."

"That's good." Serina said, then saluted "If you need me, ma'am, just yell. We'll be setting up for engine testing."

"Gotcha, Serina. Dismissed." Helena nodded to the AI, which flickered off the holotable. Helena looked to Mako, grinning and asked "We got an AI nowadays?"

"Yep. Doc Vahlen's been pretty insistent about us taking Serina aboard for a test-drive." Mako answered as the girls moved past the holotable, to the front of the bridge, where Helena's Captain's chair resided, continuing to talk "She's been doing good so far, crunching numbers and all... Most of her runtime IS devoted to the _Infinity_ 's main systems, however, and she's been slowly powering and upgrading each and every small thing. Latest fight sims show that the ship's MAC Gun can now fire with 10% extra precision, and in Space, that's a lot."

"Heh. Alright." Helena said. The thought of an AI running amok in the ship's systems wasn't bothering. Knowing XCOM, they probably had over a dozen failsafes for this, so the girl took the time to sit in her chair. The comfortable, large leather seat held several buttons on both sides of it, holographic screens and the likes, for monitoring the entire ship. Even manual control for the main MAC Gun.

"Ahh..." Helena said, settling into the chair "Feels right."

Mako chuckled, then pointed back to her seat "I'll be on the Commander's console if you need me. On your mark, we can begin engine testing."

"Okay..." She hit the button for the PA, then spoke, the sound amplified in her ears by the systems "Alright, ladies and gentlemen of the XCOM Dreadnaught _Infinity_ , this is your captain speaking. Button down hatches and prepare for first engine test. I want this ship running and out of this port in five." She smiled, then closed the PA System and looked to the helmsman, ahead of her "Take us out, one-tenth full."

"Yes ma'am." The Helmsman, an Irishman, said, running his hands over the holographic displays and turning different holographic knobs "Answering to one-tenth, aye."

The ship's engines hummed, a mere echo in the large hull, but Helena felt the slight acceleration nonetheless. The ship's Antigrav propulsion engines slowly pushed it away from the large metallic ribcage that held the ship in place, after its building. As it left, ahead, all that was left was the black inkiness of space, peppered by bright white snowflakes. It seemed magical, to say the least... At least until Alarms blared overhead. Mako turned toward Helena, who scanned the outside space.

"Malfunction?" Helena demanded, hopeful that was the case. Mako shook her head.

"Negative, negative! Alien ship at the edge of the system, coming in fast! ETA to arrival, fifteen minutes! Code identifies it as ETHEREAL!" Silver-hair answered, clenching her console. Helena breathed in, then out.

 _A single ship? And of an enemy's we haven't seen in fifteen years? Something's off..._ Helena thought, then turned on her PA and exhaled.

"General Quarters, GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" The blonde girl barked into the microphone, then closed it and est the ship's status to RED ALERT. She nodded to Mako, then looked around at the bridge crew. Gunners manned their weapons pods, sensors and coms officers alike moved around, ensigns set about their stations... It was organized, just like in simulations.

"Mako, distance of enemy ship relative to our current heading." She asked, Mako nodded, almost mechanically writing the lines in her console.

"Sensors show it's two minutes out. Its plasma lines are hot, but so are ours." The Commander answered, her eyes glued to the console.

"Good... Prepare Plasma quinaries one through five. Full frontal salvo. No good wasting an E-Slug on these fucks. It's just one ship..."

Louder alarms blared...

"Holy Fuck..." Mako whispered softly "CONTACTS! OVER THREE DOZEN ETHEREAL SHIPS OF VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES JUST EMERGED OUT OF SLIPSTREAM! FOUR DOZEN! FIVE FUCKING DOZEN!"

"No..." Helena muttered "ETHEREAL TEMPLE SHIP SIGNATURES?!"

"A-firm! Three of them!" Mako answered, running scenarios over and over "Ma'am, they're closing at best speed toward us!"

"HEAT UP ALL WEAPONS AND GET ME A SOLUTION FOR THE MAC!" Demanded the captain. "FIRE PLASMA AT THE LEADING SHIP!"

Out in space, three bubbles of green energy impacted what seemed to be a battleship-class UFO, but smaller. An emerald fire smeared across its hull, melting through the alloys as the second Torpedo struck. The ship detonated at the third, glittering fragments shining in the sunlight from Sol. No time to cheer yet, Helena thought, they still had almost a hundred good ships to deal with...

"MAC Solution achieved! Lead Ethereal Temple Ship tagged and ready for the kill!" Serina cried from her position on the table "We can fire at your orders, ma'am!"

"Take the bastards to hell! FIRE!"

The ship shuddered as the Super-MAC fired. Helena saw a contrail of smoke plume outward from one of the five barrels at the front of the ship. The Superheated slug shined dark-green as it hurtled at well past Mach-5 toward its target. The depleted Elerium projectile knifed through space and went past a few dozen Ethereal ships, only to end up gutting through an Ethereal Mothership which went full broadside toward them. The shot tore through its thick side-armor and green flames erupted from the hole the slug left in its wake. The ship detonated not-to-late after the impact, the main reactor probably having been struck. The two others didn't let up, however. In the dim light of space, their lateral plasma lines heated, emerald energy bubbling at the tips of the superheavy Plasma guns of the Ethereal ships. A barrage of plasma flew off, lighting the night sky like a second, green sun.

The shots hit the _Infinity_ before she had a chance to return fire. Green fire smeared across the side of its hull, cutting over the XCOM insignia and leaving a deep scar in the alien alloy that composed the ship's outer layer. Vengeance came soon after, as the hundreds of small strike craft from aboard the dreadnaught deployed to meet the enemy bombers and fighters head-on. FIRESTORM multi-role planes lead the strike, their blue antigrav engines shining bright. The fighters broke off from formation as dozens of the saucer-like Fighter UFOs of the Ethereal fleet dived in. The blackness was now crisscrossed by patterns of blue, green and red as both laser cannon and Plasma squared off from the XCOM Ships.

From the belly of the _Infinity_ , two of the five STRIDENT-class heavy frigates emerged. Their weapons heated and, before the Ethereal motherships knew what hit them, a dozen plasma bolts sizzled through their armor, destroying several of them in the first salvo. Side quinary plasma cannons roared to life, alongside the GARDIAN lasers, as they joined the fighters in the onslaught. Ethereal ships joined the fight, their fusion lances blasting away at XCOM. A blast went past one ship's bridge, striking the girders of the shipyard the _Infinity_ was in.

But ahead... Space rippled as hundreds more bigger ships appeared...

"Fuck..." Mako blurted out "A hundred dozen more enemy ships are coming this way, captain!"

"Damn it..." Helena muttered to herself, then sighed and looked around. "Get all fighters and gunships aboard! Spool up Slipstream drive!"

"Ma'am!?" Mako demanded, looking at her friend "What do you mean!?"

"Set a course for Mars! Jump us there, I don't care how!" Helena ordered, holding back the instinct to scream at herself "We have to get to Mars! Evacuate the Research Base there... Then get the fuck out of this system!"

"We can't do that!" Mako demanded, slamming her hand into her console "We can't leave EARTH!"

"We have to..." Helena said, a tear forming. She wiped it quickly, then said, a stoic expression on her face "The future of Humanity rests on the _Infinity_ battlegroup surviving this engagement... So, as your captain, I'm ordering the retreat... Get. Everyone. Aboard!"

Mako growled, then took one last look at Earth... This wasn't it...

"Yes ma'am!" Mako barked, nearly crying "All ships report complete dock! Slipstream drive spooled up! Coordinates set!"

"JUMP!"

Ahead of the ship and its Frigates, space distorted, then blasted open, a blue, rippling wormhole of energy... The _Infinity_ pushed inward, then vanished inside as the last fighter got aboard. Helena took one last look at the Ethereal fleet as they pounded the outer defense shell of Earth, then at her homeworld... The bright blue planet that has housed her, her friend and so many others for this long a time, was about to burn... To be occupied... As they passed the threshold, Helena inhaled, then wiped a tear from her eye which tried to sneak away and swore to herself... To her crew...

She swore to Earth she'd come back... With or without allies, she'd come back...

 _For you... Dad..._ she thought, clutching a cross pendant her father gave her, tightly... _I'll get these fucks back... I'll destroy each and every one of them even if it kills me..._

 _And I WILL TAKE EARTH BACK!_


	2. Mars Archives, ARGENT Research

_**XCOM:To The Stars**_

 _ **Chapter 2:Mars Archives. ARGENT Research.**_

 _ **Aboard Skyranger-II, Callsign**_ **FIREBRAND** ** _, ETA To Mars outpost, 3 minutes._**

Carol Rowley, Callsign FIREBRAND, looked through the Heads-Up Display at the ever-descending Altitude counter. She whistled a small tune quietly as the vehicle shuddered. Outside blackness turned orange with fiery whisps as the Skyranger gunship entered the thin Mars atmosphere. She looked back at her cargo hold, where now fourteen of XCOM's best operatives were. Within the bay, the soldiers of Strike One were preparing their plasma weaponry for combat, strapping their armors to their bodies and some, even bracing for a possible crash or turbulence from advanced alien parties on the ground floor.

Within the cargo hold, Captain Michel "Francophone" Durand, son of the infamous Major Annette "Psycho" Durand, looked over the plans of the XCOM Research base down on Mars. The guys down there discovered large stashes of Elerium and were researching it. From the top of his head, he could say his TACCOM was teeming with information related to the place. He examined his wrist-mounted holographic tablet one last time, then stood up and examined the hold of the ship, nodding to the team. Three Master Sergeants, Two Tech Sergeants, a Lieutenant and whatever was left were Rookies or Corporals.

"Okay," Michel nodded to his squad, his French accent resounding through the hold "We know why we're here. Evacuation of the Scientists, Engineers and Civilian personnel on-site within ARGENT laboratory is top priority for us today." Behind him, the holographic display warmed, then whirred to life, its blue tint now transforming into a dark-blue 'paper' with writing and an image on it, representing ARGENT Outpost "Bastard Ethereals hit Earth in full force, but we got away. These people were hit by an advanced search party outside the main fleet. We think the first ship that entered our system sent three Raider-class UFOs to bear down upon this place. Reports on the ground are not looking good..." He looked to the display "Serina, please, play sound file Gamma-3 from the outpost..."

" _Aye, aye."_ Serina's disembodied voice answered. Soon, the panicked voice of an XCOM Security Marine screamed in their ears, the transmission choppy as all hell.

" _Be advised... XCOM Central... Under heavy fire! Muton Elite forces have... Sectoids of unknown forms struck first... We have Commanders on the ground too! Send in reinforcements, god dammit!"_

And then the audio feed cut to static, leaving the entire squad shocked.

"Sectoids of 'unknown forms'?" Inquired Corporal Juliana Durand, Michel's sister "What could that mean?"

"Dunno, Juli." Michel said, picking up his Plasma Rifle "We get a chance maybe you can ask them."

"Hehe..." Chuckled Marina "Wolf" Wulfstan, readying her weapon "Sounds like we ain't as ready as we'd like to be, are we?"

"We are." Michel answered, cocking his rifle. "Get ready for drop. Firebrand, ETA?"

"Thirty seconds out, Cap. Strap in for a hot landing. I'm gonna be buzzing around 'till you recover them, then I'll be swinging in hot to recover you." She said, calmly scanning their surroundings "We have a tight window to act. Some form of dust storm is headed this way, ladies and gents. See y'all home." And she popped the back hatch open. The soldiers took positions on the gangplank and readied weapons. Marina bumped Michel in the shoulder and smiled to him, then put her helmet on.

"Just like old times..." She said, cocking her sniper. "Archangel, away!"

And, using her Archangel jet armor, she flew off, taking an advantageous position in the sky.

"Let's go, Strike squad! Boots on the ground!" Michel ordered. The squad leapt off onto a ridgeline and took postions as FIREBRAND left the vicinity. The dark-red atmosphere of Mars was pockmarked by small wisps of plasma flying left to right, but nothing major. Michel turned his gaze back behind them, to see a large sandstorm hurtling toward them. His HUD flared blue and a timer showed up. Approximately an hour before the storm hit. Hopefully enough time. The squads grabbed their weapons and marched toward the target, the entry point to the place, holding a tight formation while Marina held overwatch.

* * *

 _ **Atrium, ARGENT Labs. Dust Storm ETA:20 minutes**_

 _ **"INCOMING!"**_ cried one of the MEC troopers from his armor as a barrage of plasma struck the surrounding cover, including the reception desk. Heat prickled at the skin of a certain Private Enju "Demon" Aihara, a 15-year-old soldier, as the clouds of green superheated ionized gas washed over her head. She clutched her Plasma Dragon tightly, waiting for that precious moment where the damned alien bastards would reload. She heard a whirr of an alien Plasma Rifle and, with a mighty roar, heaved the Plasma Light Machine Gun over her cover, settled its bipod onto the desk's wood counter and squeezed the trigger. Blots of Emerald fire struck against the aliens' cover and armor, burning through both alarmingly fast, thanks to the sweeping fire beam Enju employed. The rounds, of course, were enhanced with alloy-melting compounds, injected into the plasma stream upon firing...

Overkill, yes, but in this situation, it might just save them all.

"Tundra, fire those damned Grenades already!" She cried to a MECT, same age as her. The boy nodded, then rushed past her cover and snapped her Grenade Launcher toward the target. Three thuds and fifteen separate beeps, the Elerium-enhanced High-Explosive Anti-Tank grenades detonated, shearing concrete, alloy and skin upon impact. Two Muton Elites, more slim than the soldiers of XCOM remembered from basic training holo-targets, died from the detonation and a dozen more had lacerations from impact. Enju looked through her targeting computer and saw she was running low on ammo. The counter turned red, then clicked. She quickly switched the plasma battery for a fresh one and fired another barrage, not only pinning down the aliens, but killing a pair.

"Wahoo, Demon!" Cried Theodore "White Death" Jones, a friend of Enju's from training "Bloody good show!" He snapped his sniper rifle toward another and shot. The sizzling emerald ball the size of his own fist vaporized armor and flesh and another Muton Elite was left with a gaping hole through its chest, orange blood spilling onto the ground as it fell with a thud onto it.

"Good shot yourself, Whitey!" Enju cried, then ducked back in cover as more plasma streaked in, striking the ceiling. The japanese girl swore behind her breath and checked her ammo. Two clips left and she was already down half on the second one. It was gonna go to hell real fast and if they brought Mechanical units, her squad had no Launchers to deal with it.

That was, of course, until Psionic shockwaves came from their side...

Enju looked on from her cover, seeing a dozen XCOM soldiers rush down from the stairs, their Plasma Assault Gear eating away at the Ethereal troops' cover. IFF tags flared on her Heads-Up Display, identifying the one who took cover beside her as a certain Juliana Durand. The girl snapped a salute at the Durand twins and picked her weapon up and off the ground, joining in the cannonade of Plasma sent down range toward the damned aliens...

Who, of course, had new reinforcements...

Three snake-like creatures slithered in, their Plasma Beam weapons heating up. The leader, an amber-tinted, scaly bastard, took aim toward them and hissed. A beam of plasma washed over Enju's head, warming her helmet to near-breaking point. The girl's plasma roared in response and a heat wave washed over the alien creature. As she ceased fire, only ash remained on the spot where the strange viper-like creature stood mere moments ago. Its two subordinates, smaller versions of itself, hissed and returned fire, but not before taking cover. The girl laughed, then slammed her foot into the ground, sending a cocktail of combat pheromones around her. She holstered her machinegun, having been left with only one Plasma Battery, and grabbed her Vibroblade, a knife able to pierce through Alien Alloy by decomposing it at a molecular level.

She jumped over her cover, the Combat Rush taking over, and dodged three bolts of Plasma that were intended for her. The ground at her feet bubbled as more bolts hit the concrete. She felt the searing heat pass by her legs even in her acclimatized Titan Mark-II Armor, then jumped onto a Muton Elite. She plunged the knife into its stomach, then pulled upward, opening up his armor like a tin can, then slid and struck at its legs, disabling it momentarily. She dived back and a round passed her helmet, making the Muton's armor ring and sizzle as the alloys melted, a gaping hole now taking the place of the breastplate with the Ethereal insignia on it.

"Another good one, Whitey..." The girl muttered to herself, then saw the XCOM ops advance and felt a hand shove her out of the way. She heard the familiar ring of plasma impacting Alloy, then looked to see Theodore's armor had been hit. A large scorch mark on his chest had melted most of the alloys near his heart, but he made it out unscathed. She sighed in relief, then smacked him upside the head, angered.

"You dunce, you could've gotten both of us killed there!" She yelled. The pair looked at each other, then laughed. She helped him up, then nodded to Michel, who signaled his squad to stop. They formed a perimeter around and Michel took his helmet off, revealing bright blue eyes and amber hair. Enju removed her helmet too, followed by Theo. The young Asian girl had shoulder-length ginger hair and her eyes were of the same color, but shining from time to time, signaling heavy gene modifications, while her friend, White Death, Caucasian in appearance, had white hair, silver eyes and was pale... A fitting nickname.

"What's your status?" Inquired the Captain, looking at both of them. The two snapped a quick salute, then Enju reported

"Sir, Private Enju Aihara, Japanese, 15 and Private Theodore Jones, British, 15, reporting for duty. We and Security 3's members around you are the last few people left alive in this bloody place. The scientists are in E-Wing and we couldn't get to them..."

"We have them aboard." Juliana said, scanning their surroundings.

"Oh, perfect." Theo said, smiling "E-"

"Elerium and data too... Computers are purged" Said Michel, nodding. "We're good to go, but we heard from them a security squad was left alive... Effective number of soldiers remaining?"

"Five troopers, two wounded, three nearly out of ammunition." Enju said, sighing "A MEC, a Gunner, AKA Me, a Sniper and a pair of combat medics... The Medics are the hurt ones, what an Irony..."

"Understood... How badly injured are the doctors?" Juliana asked. Enju nodded and added "They're a-okay for combat and running, though one of them took a direct hit from a damn Plasma Launcher."

"Okay... Let's head on out, people. Watch your corners." Michel said, sliding his helmet over his head "Diamond formation. Cover each other's backs as we head back to the Skyranger."

"AYE!" The squad chorused, hastily taking their designated positions. Advancing through the tall and large hallways of the Research Lab, the squad saw different pieces of ancient technology. Having heard of the discovery of strange Crypts on Mars, the squad knew that meant something, but this tech wasn't the dull-grey of the Ethereal fleet and Empire. This one was a bright-blue with silver accents and shining Elerium lines running across it. All of the damned things looked the same in the place. Some speculated they were tombstones, others weren't sure.

Coming under fire from a squad of the 'new' sectoids, the squad ducked in cover. Noticing what the bastards were, they looked half-human, their teeth sharp, their pearly black eyes staring down the squad and their bodies the size of humans', some of them had warpaint on their chests and one, one had glowing orange eyes and darker skin than the others. He was ordering the others around and was carrying an armor and heavy plasma beam rifle. The damned thing roared at them, then pointed forward and its minions opened fire with plasma and Psionics, a dozen ayys vs 16 people. Funny odds, as Beagle would say if he were not in the _Infinity'_ 's sickbay.

"COMMANDER!" Cried Enju, pulling out her pistol as waves of beam plasma roared overhead. Heat washed over their cover and plasma ate at the bench Theo took cover behind, burning it. It prickled at his skin, blistered it and made him uneasy, but the boy stood firm. He stood up, aimed the sniper and, once he got the damned alien Commander's sights in his scope, he grinned.

"Time to say _goodbye_." He whispered, then squeezed the trigger. The bolt of Emerald Fire hurtled out of its rifle's containment field and past over a dozen Sectoid-IIs, pulverizing the head of the Commander. A purple mist flew up into the air as what was once the alien's head was now a simple bloody and charred stump. Its body dropped, the golden shine vanishing. The boy ducked back in cover and checked his ammo. Half-a-clip remaining in the rifle, three left in his utility belt. He heard the thunder of two Plasma Rifles firing in unison and saw the captain and his sister blasting away at the disoriented creatures. The captain nodded to the boy, then continued firing, while Enju had her pistol out, blasting away at the things too.

Within the span of 3 seconds, all creatures had fallen. The boy stood up from his cover and, with his Colt 1911 in hand, went to check on the aliens. Though not standard-issue to XCOM's arsenals as of the development of Plasma weapons, the Colt the boy held was his father's, and he had it enhanced with magnetic coils to add to the armor-bursting properties of the bullet, alongside its damage. He went to each alien separately and shot whomever still had a head straight between the eyes.

"Area clear..." The captain called, then nodded to his team-mates. "We're advancing."

Two minutes later, the squad found themselves near the landing platform exit Airlock. Since the hangars were occupied by damned UFOs, FIREBRAND Had to land outside to pull their asses out of the fire. Theo, however, didn't know what came next... He ran a hand over the point where the Muton Elite's heavy Plasma burnt his armor's alloys. It was a suit breach. He knew what came next. Thundering footsteps sounded off behind them and the squad turned to face the oncoming threat... Not too far out in the large hallway, a being made up purely of muscle, a mass of muscle tissue, ran toward them, its roar, one that XCOM Ops knew too well.

"Now they've got Berserkers..." Theo sighed, looking up and around him... He looked behind them at the airlock's open inner door, then at his team-mates and the rest of the Captain's squad... There, he made a decision...

"What do we do? They got us boxed in!" Their MECT demanded, noticing other Muton elites moving in. The odds were against them... Theo knew what he had to do... He clenched his fists as a purple Aura surrounded him, enhancing his senses and the likes... He stared at the Mutons with indignation, hatred, but also with pride... He sighed...

"Not 'we', guys..." Theo whispered...

Enju felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs as Theo activated them... He had Psionic powers! She looked around and noticed they're in the airlock and felt her helmet seal. Theo hit the 'Lock' button and the main door into the labs closed. He looked toward Enju through the glass, his helmet off and a smile on his face. Enju stood up and hit the glass with her balled fists, taking her helmet off.

"THEO! ARE YOU INSANE!?" She demanded, looking him in his silver eyes. He shook his head.

"Not insane, Enju..." He grinned, then nodded to Enju. "My suit's breached..." He pointed at his chest, where the scorch mark was as Plasma diverted around him. His psychokinetic field was online, his eyes blaring turquoise from his Psionics now "I have the detonator to this place's underground charges, I'll set them off while you get the hell out of here!"

"Don't fucking play hero, kid!" Michel demanded, hitting the window too "Let us back in!"

"Sorry, captain! Sir, No Sir!" He pointed back "Firebrand's landed! Get your asses back to the _Infinity_! I'll guard you!"

"LIKE HELL!" Screamed Enju, bursting out into a crying fit. "Theo, don't you fucking dare!"

"Goodbye, Enj... see ya 'round..." He hit the door seal button as Metal pinged from Plasma impact. Michel slid Enju's helmet back on her head and sealed the suit, then went to the controls as up ahead, a squad of XCOM soldiers disembarked and moved toward the airlock from Skyranger One 'BIG SKY', XCOM's original pilot. One of the soldiers hit the airlock button and Michel handed him Enju. The girl was looking back at the sealed airlock behind which her friend resided, a smaller and smaller opening as they moved to the open Skyranger bay. Inside, Theo scanned the room with the people surrounding him... The damned aliens that took his original life away, him, Enju and his entire security detail had lost someone dear to these bastards in the First War... He held the detonator for the nukes in one hand, while facing off against Mutons and creatures of the likes around him...

He grinned, then lifted the det...

"If I'm going to hell..." He said, flicking the cover off the swith as Plasma struck around him. A lucky shot nailed his armor again and sent him into the wall, but he still held on to the detonator, clutching his now-burned chest. He leaned his bloodied head back onto the Airlock door. He was gasping for air as the aliens closed in on him... He couldn't see them... All he could see was his life. When he and Enju met in the orphanage, when the two became friends, when they got taken to join XCOM... And the happiest moments spent with her, along with the hardest... He laughed... He felt the Skyranger leave and her go farther and farther away... He was alone again...

From aboard the Skyranger, which was turning for a polar exit orbit to intercept _Infinity_ , Enju looked on at the outpost, crying. Of anger, of sadness, of regret... She couldn't tell why... She looked on and clutched the railing beside her, then heard a quiet whisper... His voice...

 _I love ya too, Enju... Sorry..._

And a blinding flash of light and heat shuddered the Skyranger. Enju fell to her knees, planting her face onto her palms as she burst into an uncontrollable sob. As the squad looked down below, they saw what was left of ARGENT Outpost... A bubbling crater of glass, charred bone and whatever Elerium didn't get picked up in time. Juliana tried to comfort Enju, but the girl yanked away and sat down at the farthest seat, the unoccupied one, leaning her head onto a railing... She cried herself to sleep...

"Poor kid..." Michel said, looking at the outpost.

"She's lost someone dear, Cap..." Juliana said, clutching her pendant.

"I was talking of Theodore..." He sighed, then looked to Enju "First casualty of our unit..."

"Command isn't gonna be happy about it..."

As the Skyranger reached the _Infinity_ , it jumped, with its first loss, and a first sorrowful soul... But also its first hero... Onto the Great Unknown...

 _Vigilo Confido..._


	3. The Nebula Part 1:What the Hell is that?

_Begin Captain's log 002..._

 _It's been... Rough..._

 _The past few days on the ship since our immediate jump from Mars have been tense, the crew've been working day to day doing their best, but the... The Fall of Earth is taking its toll on all of us. I dread to think what happened to some of my crew, how losing some people just like that could've affected them. Latest report I got from Captain Durand and his sister told us of the recovery of a squad of kids, all volunteers, all Orphans from the First Alien War. I was told by Michel that one of them died defending them from an entire squad of Muton Elites... God rest that kid's soul._

 _No time for moping around for me though... I can't show weakness, because it'd 'drop morale' on the ship... *Sigh* Going about to our business of the day, the_ Infinity' _s currently stuck floating in a Gas Cloud full of volatile compounds that, if they'd make contact with our thruster flames, the big engines I mean, they'd explode and create a new, incredibly large sun, with the ship we're on as its core... So, yes, it's been rough and we have to go a few days only via RCS thrusters pushing us out of the clouds. But we'll persevere some way. Humanity's known for this shit and we're not about to give up now... And when we get back to Earth?_

 _There's gonna be HELL TO PAY!_

 _END LOG_

* * *

 ** _DECK 02 Barracks._**

 ** _-Begin OST:XCOM 2-HQ Act 1:XCOM'S Back in Action!-_**

The Barracks looked more lively than ever as troops from XCOM's Second Battalion soldiers walked off toward the Mess Hall. Men and Women flocked toward the massive Mess Hall, where the tense air was filled with mumbling and chatter from all tables that were occupied. Suspenseful, somewhat happy to be there and even more happy to be alive, one of XCOM's infamous Rookies took a seat at the table of the squad she was assigned to and started eating idly, trying to keep her mouth shut as the other soldiers spoke around her. Patting on her shoulder ever so lightly made her turn her head slowly, to be greeted by a mechanical body and limbs and a normal, human head.

"Hello there." The MEC Trooper of the 17th Squad said, waving to her happily. "You must be the new rookie."

The girl nodded to him, examining the man's features. He had olive skin, green eyes and short, crew-cut hair and his smile was big and very warm. The man placed one of his steel hands onto his chest, then said "I'm Master Sergeant Tomas 'Hellfire' Gerrere. The Hogs' heavy weapons carrier." And he pointed at the girl, then asked "You? What's your name?" Calmly. She nodded, straightened up and swallowed her food, then said in a shaky voice "P-Private First-Class Catherine Marquis. French GIGN..."

"Formerly, ya mean." Hellfire said, nodding to the girl. "You're with XCOM now."

"Thanks..." The girl smiled, then she started eating. Hellfire turned back to his food as well and continued eating. The two exchanged a word or two, but between the French girl and the Brazilian man, there wasn't much chatter.

* * *

 ** _DECK 00:Bridge_**

Walking into the massive bridge of the ship, to the sight of the multi-shaded purple cloud ahead of them on their holo-screens, Helena sighed deeply as she watched the bridge crew's second shift as mobile as they could be. The two guards beside the door, whom were carrying Plasma Repeater rifles, snapped to, taking straight stances as the woman clad in her grey officer's uniform walked in. She nodded to them, then after a few steps, seated herself into her captain's chair. Her console flickered to life, but she ignored the cobalt hologram, opting instead to glance toward Mako.

Black bags under her eyes, sloppy movement, unkempt hair, dirty clothes and a very tired, robotic stare. Same for the movement. The woman hadn't slept at all since they'd left Earth. The Captain rolled her eyes, stood up from her chair, then walked toward Mako. Placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, the woman saw Mako immediately swivel about, mechanically snapping a salute at the Captain.

"Ma'am..." The woman said groggily.

"The Hell... Mako, go get some damn sleep! How long've you been awake?!" The Captain demanded, staring idly at her friend. Mako shook her head, then brought up her wristwatch and checked... She sighed deeply, then answered "About 36 hours... Why?" making Helena plant a palm on her forehead. The girl shook her head, then said "Go to your room and sleep, dammit! I think one of our ensigns can take over your post while you rest for a bit!"

"Can't... They can't..." The girl wanted to protest, before nearly dropping to the floor. Thankfully, Helena caught her just in time. The young captain sighed, then said "You're headed for your room. That's an executive order from the captain." glancing over to her sleepy friend, who was leaning on her chest. Mako nodded and responded sheepishly "Uh-huh... Alright..."

Helena smirked, then shook her head and sighed, waving two guards over, she handed them Mako and said "Make sure she gets to her room and gets some bloody sleep... I don't want an XO who can't do their job because of sleep depravation."

"Understood, ma'am!" The two girls said, hauling the young commander to the hallway that lead off to the officers' quarters. Helena sat down in her chair again, sighing deeply and leaning her head on one of her hands, while staring out at the strange expanse of gases ahead. She gazed toward one of the ensigns, who was working the radar, then asked "Anything we should worry about, Ensign?"

"Sensors are kinda scrambled by this place's magnetic field, ma'am. Can't answer that yet." responded the man, running his hands over the holographic displays ahead of him. He looked to the Captain, then saluted and said "I'm ensign Gabriel Shepherd. Call me Gabe, ma'am." with a smirk. Helena nodded and said "Pleasure to meet you, Ensign. I guess you know who I am."

The man nodded and said "Aye. My dad served as an operative in the field, against EXALT, ma'am. 'Course I know who you and your father are. Should I boost our power and see what's up?" and piously turned back and began to work. Helena sighed, then said "Alright then... Try to boost our radar's scanning power... See if we can't cut through this soup and find out where the other side is."

"Aye!" The soldier responded. Helena had examined the boy before. He was young, probably in his 19th year of life. He had coal-black hair and bright blue eyes, as well as a very pale complexion. He was swift, sleight of hand and very quick with his wits, from the looks of things. She sighed, then asked him "Where are you from, Ensign Shepherd."

"Gabe, ma'am." The boy said with a smile, continuing his work "I lived in New York for most of my life. I know the city like the back of my hand."

"New York? X-COM's main combat and officer schools, aside from the Anthill itself, are there, ain't they?" Helena asked, intrigued. The boy nodded proudly, then said "It's where I was trained. In the Naval section of the officer school. Teachers said I was excelling at everything and they secretly recommended me for the X-COM INFINITY Project... Told my dad about it too. He knew it was a dream of mine to fly off of Earth... See how our galaxy actually is."

Helena smirked, then responded "You got your dream to come true, Ensign Gabe."

"Yeah... Kinda did." The boy said with a slight nod. He turned more serious as a bleep appeared on the radar. He rubbed his chin, then said "Contact... Dreadnaught-sized Object blocking our path..."

" _Tell me when to begin course correction maneuvers, ma'am! We still got time to evade it."_ Serina chimed in from the system speakers.

"Ventral camera has a clear view of the object! Visuals returning! Magnetic field detected around the strange object! It has the reverse effect, though..." Reported one of those operating the sensors. Helena rubbed her chin, then stood up and ordered "Set us to Yellow alert. Tell all crews to be ready for possible and dangerous contact. Seal the Cryobay and secure it. Prep all batteries and two Skyranger-IIs for deployment. View of the object, project on-screen!"

"Aye!" Barked the bridge in unison. A holographic screen flickered to life in front of all of them...

It looked like a gigantic cathedral... It was a vessel about the size of the _Infinity_ , if not a bit larger. The weaponry mounted on its broadside, massive cannons, twin-linked, laying in arch-like constructions of a Gothic cathedral, with windows, small, but present, laying between each battery. Its front was a slanted piece of gold-coated metal. A rod protruded from the front and looked much like an energy cannon of immense strength... Aside from the pre-mentioned weapons, there were also multiple rotary batteries of flak guns, lasers and other such weaponry, as well as a large set of spires in the back, where there were also massive sublight engines.

"Holy shit..." Shepherd said, eyes wide. "She's like one of those Imperator Dreadnaughts from Warhammer 40k..."

"Pulled the words right out of my mouth..." Helena mused, then continued sternly "Any signals? Life signs aboard?"

"Negative. Ship has sustained severe damage." Serina said, emerging ahead of them on the holotable. "It's running on emergency power... But from my scans it's... About 3000 years old, Captain... And the cloud we're in?" She paused, making everyone look toward her. "The scans show it as a Tritium-Elerium-Helium 3 Compound... This ship is the epicenter of the cloud... It's where the gas came from."

"What's that supposed to mean, Serina?" Asked Shepherd, looking back at the AI.

Its avatar's head tilted slightly, then she responded "It means that we're in a cloud of this ship's fuel... And the magnetic field? It's keeping all the fuel around us... A source of powerful fuel that's been in decay for the better part of 3000 years..." and then she quipped with a grin "Guess I can check 'seeing a giant alien Ghost Ship' of my bucket list..."

"Mhm..." Helena sighed, scratching her chin. "It safe to board? Maybe we can scavenge supplies for the _Infinity."_

"Looks like it..." Serina responded. "There's a hangar bay on the aft of the ship. Recommend you send out a squad to check the place out, before we dive headfirst into it with a whole expedition team."

The Captain nodded, then said "Authorized... I'll be leading Fire Team Helios aboard it. Shepherd, can I trust you to run the ship while I'm gone?"

The boy smirked, then said "Planning on a little trip, then, ma'am? Sure, you can trust me and Serina to take care of the girl... You just take care of yourself out there."

"Wait, am I the only one of the three of us who thinks _that idea is insane?!_ " Serina jumped in, looking at the captain. "Ma'am, protocol dictates either the captain or XO must be aboard the ship at all times and ON THE BRIDGE. I'm sorry, but you can't go with the team."

"Protocol's kinda gone out the window, Serine." Helena responded calmly as she walked out the door. "Have fun, you two. We'll be back before you know it..." And with that, she left the bridge and went for the train. Serina sighed, then looked to Shepherd and asked "Can you believe her?" to which the Yankee smirked and shrugged "I dunno, Seri. Seems like she knows what she's doing..."

"As stubborn as her father, I must say..." Serina sighed, rubbing her forehead.

* * *

 ** _AN:Sorry it took so long and that I'm leaving off with such a small chapter, but I got the idea for this just today and wanted to do it so bad! Seriously, expect a bit of a longer chapter next time. Still, see ya guys next time, when we explore this strange alien battleship(IMPERATOR CLASS, BOIIIII!)_**

 ** _Toodles~!_**


	4. The Nebula Part 2:The ship

_**Drop Bay 03.**_

Twelve X-COM Soldiers, ranging in nationality from German to Japanese, all readied their weapons for combat as they waited outside the Skyranger-II, designation 'Phantom', for transport. Four riflemen carrying a combination of Pulse Laser and Plasma weaponry were with the team. Aside from the infantrymen, there were two Heavy troopers, both gunners as rockets would be useless in the tight corridors of a ship, then there were three scouts, with one carrying a Reflex DMR, the plasma variation of DMRs, while the others wielded plasma carbines as to make for lighter travel. There was also a single sniper, just in case and, finally, a pair of assault specialists, carrying reflex cannons, the plasma shotguns.

All soldiers were clad in Titan armor. The shining alien alloy the gear was made of had been painted over, with both patterns and colors for the soldiers to differentiate themselves. Among them, the leader of the unit, major Cole 'Frag' Anders, prepped his Reflex cannon. He was clad in a dark-blue armor with a MARPAT camo pattern. In front of him was his NCO, Master Sergeant Kiyomi "Alice" Aoyama, was making final adjustments to the sniper's scope. The woman was stern, calm, emotionless nearly, while sniping. Even now, as she made adjustments, her lilac eyes didn't leave the weapon's scope.

"Did you hear?" Asked one of the soldiers, a rifleman, loading a battery into his laser rifle.

"Hear what?" Inquired his comrade, setting his weapon down on top of a box and strapping a pair of grenades to his belt. His friend gave him a wide, toothy grin, then said "I hear that the Captain's gonna be comin' with us on this one..."

His comrade's eyes widened "You serious?"

"Aye." Smirked the man, looking down the sight of his weapon "Ain't lyin' either. Last time they checked up on her, she was out at her personal armory, gearing up." And he saw everyone stare at him. Mutters appeared from among the squad, voices of discontent. Why would an officer from the bridge join in? Why would the captain, of all people, decide it was a good idea to skip on her duties to join a bunch of soldiers? She had a ship to run.

Assorted such thoughts went around, until the group heard the telltale hiss of the elevator's doors sliding open. His gaze locked on the elevator, Major Anders gasped, upon seeing the captain clad in a full set of Titan armor, with slight modifications such as a holster for a handgun on her chest, two grenade holsters that allowed for quick access to the explosive elerium weapons and even a god damned Exo-system installed on the armor. A Skeletal frame of alloy had been rigged to the armor's servo-joints, with a massive weapon attached on the left of her arm. It was what the X-COM Tech geeks called a 'WARDEN SUIT'.

"Well, holy shit." The Major smirked, setting his weapon upon his shoulder. "Looking fancy, cap."

"Major Anders..." Nodded the woman. "I'm up for a scuffle if things go from bad to absolute FUBAR." She then responded calmly. The group noticed she also had a domed, polarized helmet with a blue visor. EVA. It linked to the black collar around the necks. Alice simply nodded, then said "Welcome, Captain. I say it is good you came to join us. Despite all appearances, we need as many hands as we can get... None of us know what to expect of that ship."

Helena nodded, then said "Still looks like a bloody cathedral to me." And she yanked her weapon, a custom-made plasma rifle with a bayonet at the front, from her back, then said "Let's head on out." as she walked up the ramp to the transport and took her seat at the farthest part of the vehicle. The woman loaded a plasma battery into the weapon, cocked its charging handle back, then looked down the sights of the weapon, safety on. With a smile, she nodded an set it beside her, then put her helmet on her head, flicked on a systems console installed in her right wrist and began checkups. Pressure at safe levels, O2 was okay and... Engaged safety locks. A click sounded off in the helmet as it sealed. She nodded, disabled the seal and let the helmet be, unsealed as not to waste her oxygen.

She watched the others pour in and take their seats aboard the 14-seat transport, followed by someone who'd just joined in. A young woman with bright blue hair, aquamarine eyes and a happy smile, as well as a tablet and an EVA suit. The symbol on her shoulder told everyone she was a scientist of the Pathfinder group. The guys who researched and checked out the stars outside the ship with the sensors to discover viable areas for them to travel through... And perhaps deploy outposts.

" _Infinity_ control, this is Phantom. Kids are in the back seat and all gear is loaded. Engines are also hot. Requesting permission to depart?" The female pilot of the craft asked, tapping several commands into the holographic console and gripping the flight and throttle sticks. The woman's eyes swept over every small bit of computerized data, including her own helmet's HUD. She soon heard Serina's voice sound off " _Copy that, Phantom. You're clear to deploy. Be advised:gravity's kinda low aboard that ship. I'm working my way into hacking its computers, but it may take some time. Will also update the team on possible objectives."_

"Roger dodger. Phantom lifting off. Have a nice day, out." Responded the pilot. "Thank God the Skyranger-IIs actually have proper maneuvering thrusters... I'd have hated to be the reason we became a giant fucking sun here..." She then muttered to herself, powering up the engines of the vehicle. Utilizing her main thrusters at first, she pushed the ship out of the hangar, only to immediately switch off those thrusters and engage the RCS ones, slowly pushing the craft ahead and eyeing the giant, derelict hulk of a vessel ahead. _Holy_ shit... was all she could think as she slowly eye the gigantic, heavily-armed battleship wreckage ahead of them.

"She's a big one." Mused the woman, gazing upon the ship's heavily-armored top, where several spires resided. Flying in close proximity to the ship's upper hull, the woman looked for an opening, only guided by the NAV Point on her HUD. The craft slowly flew past its hull, where multiple holes from heavy ordnance, as well as melted alloys, appeared. Plasma scarring.

"Looks like this ship was in a big fight. I'm seeing plasma burns and vented atmosphere... Even some crew floating around the holes... Perfectly preserved." Mused Phantom, looking around as the bodies of several crewmen flew by her ship. She couldn't get good looks at them thanks to the darkness. Sighing, the woman continued her path, across the top of the ship, until she came upon the sight she was looking for... A massive, cavernous hangar right in the middle, where the communication and control spires, as well as the bridge most likely, were.

"Get ready." Reported the woman, speaking through to the cabin. "We're moving in to land. Stand-by and put on your breathing gear. No atmosphere aboard this ship, far as I can see."

Back in the cargo hold, the crew loaded up their guns, sliding their heavy-duty combat helmets and EVA gear on their heads. Helena looked toward the blue-haired engineer putting a simple breathing mask over her nose and mouth, with an oxygen pipe leading to a back-placed filter. The woman also had a revolver strapped to her belt in a leather holster, but it seemed more decorative than for defense. Instead of a normal weapon, cradled in her hands, she had a scanner tablet. As the ship touched down, they heard a loud clang and, immediately, they felt pressure drop as the gangplank of the vehicle opened, landing on the floor with a deafened thunk.

"That is?" The woman asked the gunner sitting next to her, her voice going through radio. He nodded and said "That's doc Vahlen's daughter. Anastasia Vahlen."

"Vahlen had a kid?" Asked the Captain, staring questioningly at the soldier. As the group began walking out of the transport,the man nodded, then said "Yeah, but she was unmarried and the father left before Annie got a chance to know him. Doc apparently spent all the money she earned with X-COM on Annie... Now she's got the best damn education. She's even smarter than her mum."

As the two got out of the craft last, Helena raised her plasma rifle, scanning their surroundings, then asked "You know this how, exactly..." She looked over her HUD, where the soldier's name appeared "Sergeant Davis?" to which the man simply nodded and said "My dad served in X-COM. Fact is I think everyone's elders served with your dad in the X-COM Project, ma'am. Anyone and everyone here has some relative that worked with the original X-COM Crew."

"Oh..." Helena sighed, looking about at the strange ship's massive landing bay. The group took a scattered formation, led by the major and master sergeant, both of whom were keeping their eyes wide and their weapons up as they advanced. The cavernous hangar they were in resembled a hollowed-out steel and alloy cube, supported by heavy steel columns and with railing hanging above the entire thing, as well as holding cradles for what would be fighters, one assumed... Only one of the cradles had anything in it... And the fighter looked rusted. Everything about this ship was just unsettling...

The group could hear the creaking of rusted metal. The entire ship's superstructure groaned and screeched like finger nails on chalkboard. Walking through the hangar, eyes still wide as they scanned the walls with Night Vision on, the group approached a large bulkhead door. Beside it, a console... Which was flickering. Blue, green, blue, red... The pattern repeated itself twice before doc Vahlen got herself working.

"Doc Vahlen?" Helena asked, moving up beside the woman, who looked up and asked in a soft voice, with a thick Austrian accent "Yes, Captain?" staring at the captain with calm eyes.

"What're you doing, exactly?" The captain quickly questioned, kneeling beside her. The Doctor nodded and said "Preparing to see what I can do with this console... Perhaps restore emergency power. Allow us to further move in." and she took out her tablet, flicking it on, to reveal a bright blue screen with the X-COM insignia in the background. Vahlen calmly continued, tapping in a few commands "I will be working cohesively with Serina to hack into the ship's secondary power systems... What shocked both me and her was that, in the initial scans, this ship still maintained its artificial gravity, point in case with us being on the floor, rather than floating about..."

"Case in point..." Corrected Helena, receiving an awkwardly angry glare from Vahlen. She backed off and said "Alright, alright... I got what you mean." then proceeded to load up her weapon and remove the safety, joining the squad. She walked toward the group and gazed toward the Major, who nodded and straightened up. Flicking his wrist, he activated a holoscreen and looked to the captain. She spoke calmly "Do we have a map of the ship?"

"Rough sketch..." Responded Serina from the holo-bracelet. "You're in the main landing bay now. Going from there, you can split up and take two different routes... Knowing there's currently 14 of you, with Doctor Vahlen, I'd suggest one team takes the captain and the other, the doctor... The team with the captain can proceed to the Cargo Hold to check for useful supplies, while Doctor Vahlen's team can head for the ship's main Elerium cores. I've detected Elerium-related radiation in the far back of the ship."

The captain nodded, then said "Copy that, Serina... Good to know you can link with us here. Even more good to know that the EM field keeping this ship from being consumed by the gases around is keeping comms online."

"It's also keeping the nebula around us stable, mind you. Like I said, the gasses would've dissipated into space by now." Serina said smugly "Hell of a 'natural' camo, if you ask me, considering it's the ship's own fuel."

"Copy that, Seri. Thanks for the info. We'll line up with the teams. Give us a full map when you can!" Vahlen said happily, from beside the door. "And... Open sesame~!" The woman then said with a smirk as the door creaked with rust and struggle, then slid open alone, revealing a splitting corridor, one leading to some stairs going down and the other, to a T-intersection farther back. The Captain looked to the Major, then nodded, to which the man responded the same and said "Kane, Marco, Halsey, Shiro, Jack and you, Alice, with the Captain. Head for the cargo hold. We're taking doc to the engines." The man said, nodding to his NCO. The sniper girl nodded, then lined up with Helena and said "We're with you, Captain." proceeding to nod to the woman.

"Glad to have you with me, Master Sergeant." Nodded Helena happily. She looked to Vahlen and said "You bring the others back alive, doc. We have to talk aboard the ship when I get around to visiting RnD. Glad to make your acquaintance." then proceeded to shake hands with the woman.

"Wilco and ditto, Captain." Vahlen responded, smiling. "Stay safe yourself. The ship would become an anarchy if you were to die."

"I don't plan on dying. Let's go lads!" Smirked Helena, setting her rifle on her shoulder. She looked back to her escort, who had gathered around her and Alice. Grabbing their weapons, team 1 walked off toward the T-intersection, with a guide at the front looking at the map. Doctor Vahlen nodded to her team, then proceeded to flick her own map of the place on her tablet. The groups proceeded down their respective paths, eyes wide and weapons drawn...

What they didn't know was... Something had been watching them since they'd arrived on board...


End file.
